This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7120 of International Application No. PCT/IB00/00873, filed May 19, 2000, which further claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7365(c) of Italian Application No. MI99A 001176, filed May 27, 1999.
The subject of the present invention is an article capable of deflecting electromagnetic fields coming from external sources. In particular, it refers to a fabric which, associated to an electronic circuit, is able to suppress and deflect electromagnetic fields in the surrounding environment This type of fabric, associated to the electronic circuit, is particularly suitable for the production of articles commonly used in the domestic sphere, such as blankets for beds, tablecloths, carpets and curtains, as well as fabric for upholstery and furnishings, such as for picture frames, sofas, armchairs, and the like.
The need to produce this type of fabric has arisen recently precisely because the amount of electromagnetic waves to which the human body is subjected has increased considerably.
In the domestic sphere we are continuously bombarded by electromagnetic fields coming from radio transmitters and receivers, which spread electromagnetic waves in the radio-frequency range, from liquid-crystal displays of various kinds of electronic equipment, and above all from the phosphors of television screens or from computer monitors which transmit electromagnetic waves at a frequency concentrated in the 16-100 kHz frequency range.
In addition, frequently houses are built near high-tension lines supplying electric power, which emit electromagnetic radiation.
Furthermore, there has recently been a marked reinforcement of the GSM network for cell telephones; as a result, the use of cellphones has spread considerably also in the household environment, and this too is a source of emission of electromagnetic waves, in the 900-1800 MHz frequency range.
Recent medical studies have demonstrated that any charge of an electric or electromagnetic nature absorbed by the human body is prejudicial to the cellular balance of the chondriome. The chondriome is a cell apparatus consisting of the complex of chondriosomes, which are corpuscles that are found in the cytoplasm of most cells in the form of grains, filaments and rods and are thought to function in physiology of the cell.
Initially, our organism reacts by compensating for the cellular imbalance in the chondriome caused by electromagnetic radiation, but in the long run this imbalance is no longer compensated for, and this causes poor cell physiology with consequent harmful effects on human health.
The patent application MI97A 0026384 filed by the present applicant, as yet not published, describes a garment for deflecting electromagnetic fields, which has the purpose of protecting the user from the electromagnetic fields surrounding him. The above application, however, is limited only to a garment that can be worn by the user.
The purpose of the invention is to overcome such drawbacks by providing an article which is easy to make and is able to deflect and absorb the electromagnetic fields present in an environment.
This purpose is achieved, in accordance with the invention, by means of an article having the characteristics listed in the annexed independent claim 1.
Preferred embodiments of the invention appear from the dependent claims.
After repeated tests, the inventor has found that the fabric used for the garment of the patent application MI97A 0026384, connected to an appropriate electronic circuit, could be used for the production of articles of everyday household use for the suppression, deflection, absorption and abatement of the electromagnetic fields present in an environment. Consequently, it was possible to obtain a purification of the premises in which the above tests were conducted.
The article according to the invention is obtained by means of a meshed conductive fabric connected to an electronic circuit. Said conductive fabric absorbs electromagnetic fields and conveys them towards the electronic circuit, where they are dissipated by the Joule effect. The article can act as a sort of Faraday cage by discharging the electromagnetic signal to earth. Clearly, the earth is to be understood as a virtual earth, since earthing of the circuit is achieved by means of its connection to a strip made of conductive material, functioning as a dissipator.
As electronic circuit any parallel resonator may be used.
A detector of electromagnetic fields may be connected to the electronic circuit, which signals, by means of a LED, the presence of electromagnetic fields in the environment. In this way, the user knows when the article according to the invention is absorbing and deflecting an electromagnetic field.